The reappearance of Bixi-Cola, one of the most iconic soft drink brands in Cyprus, has prompted a public statement from Bora Manyera, son of the brand's late founder Ramiz Manyera. Bora Manyera clarified that the new Bixi-Cola, manufactured by a company based in Gaziantep, Turkey and brought to Cyprus in recent months, has no connection whatsoever to his family or his late father.
Manyera also took issue with the founding year printed on the new product's label. "1958 is the starting date of Taksim Kola, not Bixi-Cola," he stated, going on to share a detailed chronology of the brand's origins.
According to Bora Manyera, his father Ramiz Manyera launched Taksim Kola in 1958 alongside a group of friends — one of the earliest local soft drink ventures in Cyprus. Ramiz Manyera later acquired his partners' shares and established TAN Meşrubat Buz Fabrikası Ltd., continuing production under the Bel-Kola brand. The Bixi-Cola name was not introduced until 1983.
The brand quickly became a beloved household name across Cyprus. In 1984–1985, Ramiz Manyera took Bixi-Cola to the Turkish market, making it reportedly the first cola sold in cans in Turkey. Distribution there was handled through an agreement with Erbak-Uludağ İçecek A.Ş., the producer of Uludağ Gazoz.
In 1998, Ramiz Manyera decided to cease Bixi-Cola production and transferred the brand name rights to Süper Kola, a company operating in Famagusta. "Whatever happened after 1998–1999 has nothing to do with us," Bora Manyera said, underlining that both production and management of the brand passed entirely out of the family's hands at that point.
Manyera stressed that his statement was not intended to spark controversy, but rather to ensure that his father's entrepreneurial legacy and contribution to local production in Cyprus are remembered accurately. He recommended Senih Çavuşoğlu's book Memory in the Bottle – History of Turkish Cypriot Soft Drinks to anyone interested in the history of soft drinks produced in Cyprus.
